Solomon's Officials

¹Solomon was king of all Israel,

²and these were his high officials: The priest: Azariah son of Zadok

³The court secretaries: Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha In charge of the records: Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud

⁴Commander of the army: Benaiah son of Jehoiada Priests: Zadok and Abiathar

⁵Chief of the district governors: Azariah son of Nathan Royal Adviser: the priest Zabud son of Nathan

⁶In charge of the palace servants: Ahishar In charge of the forced labor: Adoniram son of Abda

⁷Solomon appointed twelve men as district governors in Israel. They were to provide food from their districts for the king and his household, each man being responsible for one month out of the year.

⁸The following are the names of these twelve officers and the districts they were in charge of: Benhur: the hill country of Ephraim

⁹Bendeker: the cities of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, Elon, and Beth Hanan

¹⁰Benhesed: the cities of Arubboth and Socoh and all the territory of Hepher

¹¹Benabinadab, who was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath: the whole region of Dor

¹²Baana son of Ahilud: the cities of Taanach, Megiddo, and all the region near Beth Shan, near the town of Zarethan, south of the town of Jezreel, as far as the city of Abel Meholah and the city of Jokmeam

¹³Bengeber: the city of Ramoth in Gilead, and the villages in Gilead belonging to the clan of Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, and the region of Argob in Bashan, sixty large towns in all, fortified with walls and with bronze bars on the gates

¹⁴Ahinadab son of Iddo: the district of Mahanaim

¹⁵Ahimaaz, who was married to Basemath, another of Solomon's daughters: the territory of Naphtali

¹⁶Baana son of Hushai: the region of Asher and the town of Bealoth

¹⁷Jehoshaphat son of Paruah: the territory of Issachar

¹⁸Shimei son of Ela: the territory of Benjamin

¹⁹Geber son of Uri: the region of Gilead, which had been ruled by King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan Besides these twelve, there was one governor over the whole land.

Solomon's Prosperous Reign

²⁰The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore; they ate and drank, and were happy.

²¹Solomon's kingdom included all the nations from the Euphrates River to Philistia and the Egyptian border. They paid him taxes and were subject to him all his life.

²²The supplies Solomon needed each day were 150 bushels of fine flour and 300 bushels of meal;

²³stall-fed cattle, 20 pasture-fed cattle, and 100 sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and poultry.

²⁴Solomon ruled over all the land west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah on the Euphrates as far west as the city of Gaza. All the kings west of the Euphrates were subject to him, and he was at peace with all the neighboring countries.

²⁵As long as he lived, the people throughout Judah and Israel lived in safety, each family with its own grapevines and fig trees.

²⁶Solomon had forty thousand stalls for his chariot horses and twelve thousand cavalry horses.

²⁷His twelve governors, each one in the month assigned to him, supplied the food King Solomon needed for himself and for all who ate in the palace; they always supplied everything needed.

²⁸Each governor also supplied his share of barley and straw, where it was needed, for the chariot horses and the work animals.

²⁹God gave Solomon unusual wisdom and insight, and knowledge too great to be measured.

³⁰Solomon was wiser than the wise men of the East or the wise men of Egypt.

³¹He was the wisest of all men: wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame spread throughout all the neighboring countries.

³²He composed three thousand proverbs and more than a thousand songs.

³³He spoke of trees and plants, from the Lebanon cedars to the hyssop that grows on walls; he talked about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.

³⁴Kings all over the world heard of his wisdom and sent people to listen to him.

Solomon's Address to the People

¹Then King Solomon prayed, “Lord, you have chosen to live in clouds and darkness.

²Now I have built a majestic temple for you, a place for you to live in forever.”

³All the people of Israel were standing there. The king turned to face them and asked God's blessing on them.

⁴He said, “Praise the Lord God of Israel! He has kept the promise he made to my father David when he said to him,

⁵‘From the time I brought my people out of Egypt until now, I did not choose any city in the land of Israel as the place to build a temple where I would be worshiped, and I did not choose anyone to lead my people Israel.

⁶But now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place where I will be worshiped, and you, David, to rule my people.’”

⁷And Solomon continued, “My father David planned to build a temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel,

⁸but the Lord said to him, ‘You were right in wanting to build a temple for me,

⁹but you will never build it. It is your son, your own son, who will build my temple.’

¹⁰“Now the Lord has kept his promise: I have succeeded my father as king of Israel, and I have built a temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel.

¹¹I have placed in the Temple the Covenant Box, which contains the stone tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with the people of Israel.”

Solomon's Prayer

¹²Then in the presence of the people Solomon went and stood in front of the altar and raised his arms in prayer.

¹³(Solomon had made a bronze platform and put it in the middle of the courtyard. It was eight feet square and five feet high. He mounted this platform, knelt down where everyone could see him, and raised his hands toward heaven.)

¹⁴He prayed, “Lord God of Israel, in all heaven and earth there is no god like you. You keep your covenant with your people and show them your love when they live in wholehearted obedience to you.

¹⁵You have kept the promise you made to my father David; today every word has been fulfilled.

¹⁶Now, Lord God of Israel, keep the other promise you made to my father when you told him that there would always be one of his descendants ruling as king of Israel, provided that they carefully obeyed your Law just as he did.

¹⁷So now, Lord God of Israel, let everything come true that you promised to your servant David.

¹⁸“But can you, O God, really live on earth among men and women? Not even all of heaven is large enough to hold you, so how can this Temple that I have built be large enough?

¹⁹Lord my God, I am your servant. Listen to my prayer and grant the requests I make to you.

²⁰Watch over this Temple day and night. You have promised that this is where you will be worshiped, so hear me when I face this Temple and pray.

²¹Hear my prayers and the prayers of your people Israel when they face this place and pray. In your home in heaven hear us and forgive us.

²²“When people are accused of wronging others and are brought to your altar in this Temple to take an oath that they are innocent,

²³O Lord, listen in heaven and judge your servants. Punish the guilty ones as they deserve and acquit the innocent.

²⁴“When your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you and then when they turn to you and come to this Temple, humbly praying to you for forgiveness,

²⁵listen to them in heaven. Forgive the sins of your people and bring them back to the land which you gave to them and to their ancestors.

²⁶“When you hold back the rain because your people have sinned against you and then when they repent and face this Temple, humbly praying to you,

²⁷O Lord, listen to them in heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, the people of Israel, and teach them to do what is right. Then, O Lord, send rain on this land of yours, which you gave to your people as a permanent possession.

²⁸“When there is famine in the land or an epidemic or the crops are destroyed by scorching winds or swarms of locusts, or when your people are attacked by their enemies, or when there is disease or sickness among them,

²⁹listen to their prayers. If any of your people Israel, out of heartfelt sorrow, stretch out their hands in prayer toward this Temple,

³⁰hear their prayer. Listen to them in your home in heaven and forgive them. You alone know the thoughts of the human heart. Deal with each of us as we deserve,

³¹so that your people may honor you and obey you all the time they live in the land which you gave to our ancestors.

³²“When foreigners who live in a distant land hear how great and powerful you are and how you are always ready to act, and then they come to pray at this Temple,

³³listen to their prayers. In heaven, where you live, hear them and do what they ask you to do, so that all the peoples of the world may know you and obey you, as your people Israel do. Then they will know that this Temple I have built is where you are to be worshiped.

³⁴“When you command your people to go into battle against their enemies and they pray to you, wherever they are, facing this city which you have chosen and this Temple which I have built for you,

³⁵listen to their prayers. Hear them in heaven and give them victory.

³⁶“When your people sin against you—and there is no one who does not sin—and in your anger you let their enemies defeat them and take them as prisoners to some other land, even if that land is far away,

³⁷listen to your people's prayers. If there in that land they repent and pray to you, confessing how sinful and wicked they have been, hear their prayers, O Lord.

³⁸If in that land they truly and sincerely repent and pray to you as they face toward this land which you gave to our ancestors, this city which you have chosen, and this Temple which I have built for you,

³⁹then listen to their prayers. In your home in heaven hear them and be merciful to them and forgive all the sins of your people.

⁴⁰“Now, O my God, look on us and listen to the prayers offered in this place.

⁴¹Rise up now, Lord God, and with the Covenant Box, the symbol of your power, enter the Temple and stay here forever. Bless your priests in all they do, and may all your people be happy because of your goodness to them.

⁴²Lord God, do not reject the king you have chosen. Remember the love you had for your servant David.”

Praise and Thanksgiving

¹O God, it is right for us to praise you in Zion and keep our promises to you,

²because you answer prayers. People everywhere will come to you

³on account of their sins. Our faults defeat us, but you forgive them.

⁴Happy are those whom you choose, whom you bring to live in your sanctuary. We shall be satisfied with the good things of your house, the blessings of your sacred Temple.

⁵You answer us by giving us victory, and you do wonderful things to save us. People all over the world and across the distant seas trust in you.

⁶You set the mountains in place by your strength, showing your mighty power.

⁷You calm the roar of the seas and the noise of the waves; you calm the uproar of the peoples.

⁸The whole world stands in awe of the great things that you have done. Your deeds bring shouts of joy from one end of the earth to the other.

⁹You show your care for the land by sending rain; you make it rich and fertile. You fill the streams with water; you provide the earth with crops. This is how you do it:

¹⁰you send abundant rain on the plowed fields and soak them with water; you soften the soil with showers and cause the young plants to grow.

¹¹What a rich harvest your goodness provides! Wherever you go there is plenty.

¹²The pastures are filled with flocks; the hillsides are full of joy.

¹³The fields are covered with sheep; the valleys are full of wheat. Everything shouts and sings for joy.